Venetian blind



H. R. HAAsE VENETIAN BLIND Dec. l2', 1939.

Filed May 3l.v 1938 ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 12, 1939 Umreosraras marisa iii-iai"stri orgies g 14 Claims.

This invention relates to Venetian blinds and more particularly to ther control head for such blinds. The control head of the blind is that portion of the blind which is supported at the top of the window frame and from which the slats of the blind are suspended. It normally includes both raising cords for raising the slats and tilt means for manipulating the latter tapes by which the slats are normally separated, to tilt the slats. In recent years the ancient Venetian blind industry has become quite active due to the fact that Venetian blinds rhave again come into style. One result of such activity has been agreat lnumber of different designs for the head structure of 'i5'v the blinds. Because the current simplication or omission of draperies leaves the heady structure exposed, it has been found desirable by some manufacturers to conceal'the tilt mechanism and v in other respects make the head structure` as neat as possible. One of the obvious ways of making the head structure neater is -to reduce its height as well as to conceal the tilt mechanism therein. To this end an old and obvious'expedient` was adopted, the thick wooden head rail being replaced by a hollow metal casing which both supports and houses the tilt mechanism and the raising pulleys. Such metallic support casings, however, had the disadvantage that they had to be especially made for each blind and required expensive machinery for their manufacture. An object of thel present invention is therefore to provide a satisfactory concealed-tilt head structure in which the relatively expensive and inconvenient metal easing is not required. Expressed differently, an object of the invention is to provide a construction which utilizes the old conventional wood head bar with fittings which can easily be applied thereto even in small shops but which do not increase' the overall height of the m' head structure as compared to satisfactory metal casings.

Once a manufacturer decided to adopt a metal support casing he could merely select one of the known tilt structures to go within the casing or 5' he could design a new one which would permit him tc reduce the height of the casing. The chief difficulty in reducing the height of the casing was the necessity of providing adequate vertical movement of the tilt tapes and the desirability, for neatness, of having thev tilt tapes extend into the casing at all times, as it had in built-up wooden casings. In general, it is necessary for each of these tapes to move upand down a distance approximately equal to the width of the slats, this-distance being 'the distance that the (Cl. 15G- 17) edge of the slat moves as it is tilted from a nearly vertical position in one direction to a nearly vertical position in the other direction.

In a preceding construction I introduced a new the loop and hence could bey nearly twice the height of the rhead structure, According to theY present invention no loop is formed initially. but the tape is movedy approximately the height of the casing and then drawn up still further by being carried inwardly and downwardly over a. roller. The very vsimple mechanism is so compact in a vertical direction that it may be positioned above a wooden head rail of conventional thickiiess,Y 'the two ytogether having a height which, being only equal to the width of the individual slats, is entirely satisfactory.

In general, the illustrated form of the invention includes two separate tilt units, each of which can be securedy on the top of a Venetian blind head rail. The tilt cord pulley vwith its worm gear andthe raising cord pulley and lock are also .separate units so that they can be securedy to the wooden head' rail. Thus, the two tilt units and the worm wheel'and pulley unit, together with cord pulleys and cord brake if desired, may be furnished to the small blind producer so that he can make up his head structures from. the wood stock that has ccmmonly'been used for vhead rails of Venetian blinds. The height of the composite structure is such that an ordinary Venetian blind slat may be applied to the front of the head rail and completely conceal the mechanism thereabove. The slight amount of cutting or routing out of the head rail which is necessary can easily be performed by anyonewho has previously been equipped to manufacture Venetian blinds of the exposed tilt type.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a front view of the control head chosen for illustration of thisinvention with the face slat removed for the sake of clarity. l

Fig. 2'i`s a'top view of the structure shown in Fig. l with the face slat in place.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken approximately on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, showing the tapes in one extreme position.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken approximately' on the line ri-li of Fig. 2 and showing a preferred construction of tilt worm and pulley mechanism.

Fig. 5 is an end view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2 and showing in dotted lines the position andl manner of securing the pulley and cord lock mechanism.

Although this invention may take numerous forms, only one has been chosen for illustration. In this form the blind except for its head construction may be regarded as conventional including the conventional slats II and bottom rail I2 which are suspended in uniformly spaced positions by ladder tapes I3 which are so named because each includes the front tape to which the number I3 is applied, the back tape I3', and cross tapes I4 as seen in Fig. 3. If the front tapes I3 are raised and the back tapes I3' are lowered, the slats I I will be tilted in one direction, while if the tapes are reversed the slats II will likewise be reversed. The slats and the head rail may be drawn upwardly by a raising cord I6 which is secured at its ends to the bottom rail I2 and extends up over pulleys I1, down around pulley I8 to form a loop I 9 which is grasped with the hand to raise or lower the blind. The slats may be retained in a raised position by an automatic lock 2| which may be of any form desired.

The head structure includes the pulleys I1 and I3 and the cord lock 2|, all of which may be considered conventional and all of which are carried by a head rail 23 which has the advantage of being conventional in its general nature. In other words, it is a wood rail made of the same stock from which conventional head rails are made and having a slot 24, seen best in Fig. 5, extending along its top for the reception of the raising cord I6. The pulleys I1 and I8 may be of conventional size instead of having to be reduced in size as has been the case with some metal heads in order to make sufficient room for the tilting mechanism thereabove.

Tilt mechanism The tilting mechanism includes a pair of identical units each including a U-shaped bracket 26, a pair of rollers (or fixed guide bars) 21, and a sprocket 28. The rollers 21 are carried by the upwardly extending legs of the U-shaped bracket 26 and may rotate either on studs formed on their ends or on a separate pivot pin extending therethrough. The sprocket 28 is carried by a rod 29 which extends through both of the brackets 26 and also extends into a worm gear 3l. The rod 29 is noncircular in shape, and the worm gear 3l and sprockets 28 are internally shaped to fit the rod 29 so that the rod 29 may be turned by the Worm gear 3l and will rotate the sprockets 28. A hexagonal shape is preferred for the rod 28 because it may be obtained readily, being a stock item. It extends through round holes in the vertical legs of brackets 26, at least one hole in each bracket fitting the rod 29 fairly closely so as to act as a journal therefor. The sprocket 28 may be centered between the legs of the bracket 26 in any suitable manner, one of the simplest ways being that illustrated in which extensions 33 are bent over from the tops of the legs of bracket 26 and then bent downwardly again and bifurcated as seen in dotted lines at 34 in Fig. 3. The downwardly extending and bifurcated ends of the extensions 33 will lie adjacent opposite faces of the sprocket 28.

A chain 36 extends under the sprocket 28 and in mesh therewith and passes over both of the rollers 21 as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. At each end of the chain 35 is pivoted a coupled 31 which, as seen best in Fig. 3, includes a doubled-over toothed strip 38 which engages the top of one of the ladder tapes I3 or I3' to which it is firmly secured by its teeth. The strip 38 has an upward extension 39 at its center which is pivotally connected to the chain 33 so that the coupler 31 with the tape secured thereto may be drawn over the roller 21 to the position shown at the left in Fig. 3.

The two extreme positions for the tapes I3 and I3' are seen in Fig. 3. The tape I3 is in its lowermost position with the coupler 31 adjacent the bottom of the head rail 23. The tape I3', on the other hand, extends up over the roller 21 and downwardly in a direction tangent to the sprocket 28 with its coupler 31 approximately in contact therewith. It is thus seen that the movement of each tape is at least equal to or may be even greater than the outside height of the head structure including both the head rail 23 and the brackets 26. If still greater movement were necessary, holes could be provided in the coupler 31 and even in the top of the tapes I3 and I3 so that these could be drawn under the sprocket 28. Itis not believed, however, that this will ever be necessary because, if the head structure is as high and as wide as the slats I I, the relative extent of movement illustrated in Fig. 3 will be enough.

To prevent any possibility of entanglement of the chain 35 guide plates 4I are bent upwardly from the base L12 of the U-shaped brackets 26. A

portion of the metal cut out from adjacent the plate 4I and the base 42 at each corner may be bent outwardly to form the securing lugs 43 to facilitate securing the bracket 2G to the head rail 23 by screws as seen clearly in Fig. 2.

In order to permit the couplers 31 to move up and down within the lateral outlines of the head rail 23, the head rail is cut or routed out to form channels 4.3. A hole is also drilled through the head rail 23 at this point to receive the pin 41 for holding the pulley I1.

Although the rod 29 could be turned in some other manner than by the worm gear 3| a worm gear is desirable because of its self-locking coaction with the driving worm 48. In other words, when the slats have been tilted to any position they will stay in that position until the worm 48 is manually turned. The worm 48 is driven by a tilt cord 49 which extends around a pulley 5I which is preferably serrated at the bottom of its groove and may be provided with spring guards 52 which insure an adequate bite between the serrations of the pulley 5i and the cord 49 to prevent the cord 49 from slipping or creeping on the pulley 5 I The pulley 5I and the worm 48 are of course keyed to or otherwise rigidly carried by a common shaft which is rotatably carried by a bracket 54 in which the rod 29 is also journaled. The worm gear 3| is mounted on the rod 29 and is maintained in a predetermined longitudinal position by guide portions 6I of the bracket 54. The bracket 54 is secured by suitable screws to the head rail 23 as seen best in Fig. 2. 'Ihe spring guards 52 are secured to the bracket 54 at their lower ends.

As will be seen from Fig. 4;, the illustrated construction of worm and pulley unit requires that the head rail 23 be routed out to form a recess 63 for receiving the bracket, as Well as a passage 64 for receiving the tilt cords 49. This is not objectionable from the standpoint of weakening the head rail 23 since the pulley and worm unit is always positioned quite close to the end of the head rail 23 where the full cross-sectional strength of the head rail is not needed. At the f slat t9.

positions of the brackets 26 where somewhat greater head rail strength is desired, an adequate strength is maintained since the channels or passages it leave relatively heavy portions of the head rail substantially intact from topvto bottom. i The only additional routing out of the head rail that is necessary is near the other end of the head rail for the pulley I8 and cord lock 2 I, both of which are carried by the same bracket G6 secured in place by a screw passing through a lug 61 formed on the bracket 66. The bracket 66 is preferably positioned at an angle as seen in Fig. 5 so as to carry the raising cord It from its position in the longitudinal groove 24 over approximately to the edge of the head rail 23. The hole for the bracket 26 will of course be inclined as is the bracket so that there will not be any unnecessary weakening of the head rail.

Since one object of putting the tilt mechanism above the head rail 23 is to permit its concealment, it is obvious that a face board (it should be secured on the front side of the head rail 23. One of the advantages of the present invention is that the entire head structure is sufliciently low in total height so that the face board 59 may be made from ordinary Venetian blind Slat stock, which of course every Venetian blind manufacturer has on hand. This face slat @t may be tacked to the head rail 23er secured thereto by concealed securing means between it and the head rail or simply secured in place by the supporting brackets (not shown) at the ends 'of the rail 23. One preferred form of securing means has been illustrated, being seen best in Fig. 5. Here two or more spring steel clips 1l are nailed to the head rail 23 and are so designed that the face slat 69 may be inserted therein or removed therefrom with ease. The method of inserting the face slat is to insert its upper edge first, whereupon the clips 1| will nex sufliciently to permit the lower edge of the slat to be snapped' into place. The face slat 69 does not support any portion of the Weight of the apparatus and may therefore be attached to the head rail 23 relatively loosely. In fact, it is preferred that it be secured only near its ends so that if there is any slight sagging of the head rail 23 this will not produce a pull on the securing means for the face Of course, such sagging will never be great inasmuch as one or more' intermediate brackets will be provided for holding up the center of head rail 23 when its length is such as to make such brackets necessary.

From the foregoing it is seen that a Venetianv blind control head has been provided which can readily be manufactured in any required size by a manufacturer or small shop keeper who has a supply of the fittings in stock and which will nevertheless be as satisfactory in appearance as the control heads which in the past were built into metal casings and therefore required expensive machinery for their production. It is merely necessary for the manufacturer er small Shop keeper to take a conventional head rail of the proper length having a longitudinal groove 24 therein, install the pulleys l1, the pulley it and cord lock 2l in the usual manner, rout out the recess 63 and the slots 4S, and apply the proper fittings adjacent thereto. When the ladder tapes have been cut to the right length, the chains 3% with the couplers 31 thereon may be attached to the top thereof with the ladder tapes slipped intothe slots 4t and the chains passing over the rollers 21. 'I'he sprockets 28 are next inserted between the bracket extension 33, and the rod 29 may then be threaded through the Worm gear 3l and sprockets 28.' The headis now complete and the raising cord I 6 and tilt cord 49 may be applied thereto if this has not been done previously, the slats may be inserted in the tapes and the cords threaded through the slats and secured to the bottom rail I2 or otherwise strung in the usual manner. The face slat 69 may be applied immediately but more commonly will not be applied until after the control head has been installed in a window. Although the construction is such that access to the control head should never be necessary until the cord I6 wears out, access when required may be obtained very easily by merely removing the face Slat 69 without removing the control head from the window. The control head is sodesigned' that the face slat 69 may be of a height equal to the width of conventional blind slats so that its appearance is satisfactory and no special material is required. In spite of the low height of the head, the movement of the tapes by the tilt' mechanism therein is adequate, being greater than the total height of the head. It should be noted that in the preferred form the sprocket 28 is so close to bottom web 42 that the doubledover strip 38, which lies outside of a tooth on sprocket 28, can not pass between the sprocket and the web 42.' This serves to desirably limit the movement of the parts. l

The disclosures of this application are illustrative and the invention is not to be limited by them. In fact, if modifica-tions or improvements are not at once obvious, they may be devised in the course of time to make additional use of the broad ideas taught and covered by this application. For example, other elements such as a cable and pulley could be substituted for-the chain and sprocket, or if therollers 21 were urged against a drive roller by springs the tapes could be spliced and driven by them directly. Likewise, the chain need not be taken under the sprocket when its movement to the top of the sprocket would be suiiicient. Also,A a spliced tape could be slid along a semicircular shoe across the top by pivoted arms.

I claim:

l. A tilt control unit for Venetian blinds including a bracket adapted to be secured above a head rail and having guide means near the upper outer corners thereof, a sprocket between thek guide means, and a chain adapted to pass over the guide means and under the sprocket in engagement therewith and having couplers at its ends for securing a ladder tape thereto.

2. A controlhead for Venetian blinds including a wooden head rail having vertical slots along opposite sides thereof for the passage of ladder'tapes therethrough, a bracket positioned above the slots and `including guide means positioned over the slots near the top of the bracket, a sprocket positioned generally between the guide means, and a chain extending over the guide means and downwardly under the sprocket in engagement therewith and connected to ladder tapes extending through the slots. 4

3. A control head for Venetian blinds including a wooden head rail having vertical slots along opposite sides thereof for the passage of ladder tapes therethrough, a bracket positioned over the slots and including guide means positioned near the top of the bracket over the slots, a sprocket positioned generally between the guide means, and a chain extending over the guide means and under the sprocket in engagement therewith and connected to ladder tapes extending through the slots, said control head being approximately as small in total height as the width of an ordinary blind slat and having a face member formed of blind slat stock secured thereto and hiding said bracket.

4. A tilt unit for Venetian blind control heads including a bracket, guide means secured near the upper outer corners or the bracket, a sprocket positioned intermediate the guide means, and means adapted to be associated with ladder tapes extending over the guide means and under the sprocket in engagement therewith for drawing one side of the ladder tape up over one guide means.

5. A tilt unit for Venetian blind control heads including a bracket, guide means secured near the upper outer corners of the bracket, a sprocket positioned intermediate the guide means, means adapted to be associated with ladder tapes extending over the guide means and under the sprocket in engagement therewith for drawing one side of the ladder tape up over one guide means, and extensions for said bracket extending in juxtaposition with the sprocket for centering it with respect thereto.

6. A tilt unit for Venetian blind control heads including a bracket, guide means secured near the upper outer corners of the bracket, a sprocket positioned intermediate the guide means, and means adapted to be associated with ladder tapes extending over the guide means and under the sprocket in engagement therewith for drawing one side of the ladder tape up over one guide means, said sprocket being positioned on a noncircular rod extending through the bracket and adapted to be rotated by a tilt control device.

7. A tilt unit for Venetian blind control heads including a bracket, guide means secured near the upper outer corners of the bracket, a sprocket positioned intermediate the guide means, and means adapted to be associated with ladder tapes extending over the guide means and under the sprocket in engagement therewith for drawing one side of the ladder tape up over one guide means, said bracket including extensions extending into juxtaposition with the guide means and sprocket for preventing entanglement of the tapeactuating means passing therebetween.

8. A Venetian blind control head including xed guide means near an upper outer corner of the control head, and means for drawing a ladder tape from a lower corner of the control head up over the xed guide means and away therefrom at an angle to its approach thereto to move the tape further than its range of movement along a vertical side of the control head.

9. Tilt mechanism for a Venetian blind including xed guide means at opposite sides thereof, slat control means extending over said guide means, and manipulating means for drawing the slat control means over one guide means and downwardly therefrom while letting it pay out from the other guide means.

10. Tilt mechanism for a Venetian blind including iixed guide means at opposite sides thereof, slat control means extending over said guide means, and manipulating means for depressing the slat control means between the guide means and drawing the slat control means over and around one guide means and away therefrom while letting it pay out from the other guide means.

11. A control head for a Venetian blind, including a wooden head rail having ai groove along its top to receive raising cords and having pulleys around which the raising cords pass and having apertures through which the raising cords extend downwardly through the head rail, tilt mechanism carried by the head rail on the upper side thereof extending above the head rail a distance less than the thickness of the head rail, and including means for supporting slat control means extending downwardly from the head rail and for operating said slat control means by moving said slat control means up and down a distance greater than the entire height of the control head, and a face member positioned substantially entirely above the bottom of the head rail and concealing said tilt mechanism.

12. A control head for a Venetian blind, including a wooden head rail having a groove along its top to receive raising cords and having pulleys around which the raising cords pass and having apertures through which the raising cords extend downwardly through the head rail, tilt mechanism carried by the head rail on the upper side thereof extending above the head rail a distance less than the thickness of the head rail, and including means for supporting slat control means extending downwardly from the head rail and for operating said slat control means by moving said slat control means up and down a distance greater than the entire height of the control head, clips secured to the head rail, and a face slat removably held within the clips.

13. A tilt control unit for Venetian blinds, including a bracket, a sprocket rotatably carried by the bracket, a chain driven by the sprocket, a coupler associated with the chain and adapted to engage slat control means and having a portion which will rest against the end of a tooth of the sprocket and extend therebeyond as it is drawn against the sprocket by rotation thereof, and fixed means associated with the bracket and lying sufficiently close to the portion of the sprocket with which the chain is in engagement to prevent passage of said coupler between said sprocket and said fixed means.

14. A Venetian blind of the general type including a plurality of slats normally supported in spaced relation by slat control means, means for manipulating the slat control means to tilt the slats, and means for raising the slats, characterized by the use of a wooden head rail for supporting the blind slats, having a passage for the slat control means formed by a shallow open slot in the side of the head rail, and by the use of tilt units supported on the top of the head rail for drawing the slat control means through the slots, and a face member secured to the head rail forming a wall for the slot and concealing the slots and the tilt units.

HAROLD R. HAASE. 

